Baseball Talk - Diamondbacks above .500, Mariners Roll

[Zeno]

Diamondbacks played a thriller against Huston tonight. They score 5 in the bottom of the eighth to take the lead and then gave up 4 in the ninth but still pulled out a win, for six in row. They are now at 39-36 and 5.5 games back of LA and San Fran who are tied for first place. The young guys they brought up to fill all the holes because of injury are playing well. They may make a little noise if they get their regular players back but will probably fall short of making the post season. The young guys are playing over their heads really.

Mariners have a number of important series coming up, including playing Oakland on the road in a four game set. Somewhat of a minor lull of late but still playing outstanding baseball, especially the series against Atlanta. And they still have the best record and a chance to get to 50 wins tomorrow against San Diego.

Ichiro Suzuki is only batting .356 with 109 hits, 25 RBI, 18 SB, 7 HR and an OPS of .884. So what kind of player is he anyway?


The Blue Jays are pecking at the heels of the Yankees. Two teams are trying to run up and over the Yanks. Who will do it, the Jays or the Dirty Sox? I vote for the Jays. Sox always end up in the wash.


-Zeno

[ArchAngel71857]

The Diamondbacks are climbing, but with Hillebran on the DL, and Matt Williams retiring, i am curious if they keep their steam.


Ichiro Suzuki is only batting .356 with 109 hits, 25 RBI, 18 SB, 7 HR and an OPS of .884. So what kind of player is he anyway?

Not Albert Pujols.

I vote for the Jays because i think thier pitching will hold up more over the rest of the season. If Boston's bullpen can avoid injury and get Chad Fox back, then they have a host, but Lowe needs to pitch a lot better.

My team is the Indians, and this year I am praying that the win 65 games and that Milton Bradley's contract has a ten-year clause in it somewhere...

-AA

[andyfox]

"Sox always end up in the wash."

Great line.

Blue Jays have the best hitting in the league right now. Without their two best OBP players (Williams and Johnson), the Yankees offense is weak.

The Diamondbacks will not make the playoffs. The Dodgers are the best team in the division. If Green starts hitting, they'll win it going away.

Alanta should win the World Series this year.

[Boris]

The Sox have better pitching than the Jay's. The Jay's have Halliday. He is awesome. defies the laws of physics. There is one other starter who is OK. After that they go down hill. Lidle has alot of wins but only because of outstanding run support. The Jay's bullpen is probably worse than the Red Sox. In any event I'm glad the BlueJay's are showing signs of life in the AL East. Makes it easier for Oakland to win a wild card. /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

[KJS]

ArchA,

I am also a huge Tribe fan. Even though I live in Thailand, I listen to all their games on mlb.com. Gotta love the internet.

I think they'll win 65 this year. They will get a bump soon when Garcia, Guitierrez and Omar come back. But I must say the call-ups have done OK. They finished above .500 for May. Not bad for a rebuilding team. It will bode well for the future that so many of their young guys are getting a lot of big league ABs.

I also think the Tribe will be in the playoffs again by 2005 at the latest. If they get a few veterans to round out the core of McDonald, Crisp, Gerut, Martinez and the new draftees are the real deal, they might be in business. I think their GM is solid and even Peter Gammons says the Cleveland farm system in the best in baseball. Buffalo is blowing away the competition in AAA this year.

KJS

Larry Doby RIP.

[Zeno]

"Alanta should win the World Series this year. "

/forums/images/icons/shocked.gif /forums/images/icons/shocked.gif /forums/images/icons/shocked.gif

Well, at least it won't be the Yankees. /forums/images/icons/smirk.gif

Speaking of great teams (your prediction for Atlanta is hard to argue with) who is on bottom?

Besides the Mets, I mean. /forums/images/icons/wink.gif

Texas?


-Zeno

[andyfox]

I guess whoever has the worst record right now, Tampa Bay I imagine.

But I would vote for Texas. This is a team with a giant payroll and it's a mess. Chan Ho Park has been a disaster. Apparently the owner now wants to cut payroll and wants to unload Park (there will be no takers, even for free), Palmiero (congratulation on your 500th home run, have a nice day), and Gonzalez, who is undecided about being undecided about going to Montreal. Plus they have three organizations that know what they're doing above them in their division. Even with the man who will go down as the second greatest shortstop of all-time anchoring their team, they sure look like they're a long, long way from getting to the playoffs.

You'll really enjoy Moneyball, Zeno. Highly recommended.

[Zeno]

"You'll really enjoy Moneyball, Zeno. Highly recommended."

As I am typing this out the wheels of capitalism are speeding a copy to my door. God Bless Money and the power it wields. /forums/images/icons/wink.gif

The Rangers are pathetic. Something is amiss, I always just assumed very bad pitching and left it at that, but it is obviously more than that. Alex got a great contract but may end up having his best years eaten away playing with a losing organization. How much longer will he put up with it? He wants to get in the playoffs and contend for the WS, but he has a long, long way to go, I agree.

-Zeno

[andyfox]

I was wrong, the Tigers have a worse record than Piniella's bunch.

Note also that the D'Backs have won eight in a row now. They'll probably win 28 in a row now that I have pronounced them un-playoff bound.